Team ZAAP
by Atinizer
Summary: The story follows a team of students as they attend Beacon, a battle school meant to train people to become defenders of peace. They will face many trials against many foes such as: Grimm, humans, faunus, friends, family, and even themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: The first day

The loud beeping of an alarm clock echoed through the messy room. A boy in a white vest and black shirt shot up from his bed and slammed the alarm clock. He looked at the time still half asleep.

"OH SHOOT THE AIRSHIP!"  
The boy ran out his room and grabbed his suitcase that ha packed the night before. He ran through the kitchen and snatched some toast with peanut butter on it while passing his parents.  
"Don't be late Zeek! Rustin and Terren are already waiting for you there!"  
"Thanks mom!" Zeek shouted as he left his house in a sprint down town.  
As he approached the airship he could make out his best friend Rustin standing there in the midst of a large crowd with his red hair and rust ridden shirt, his name definitely fit him.  
"Hey Zeek, Terren saved us spots on the airship come on!" Rustin shouted and pulled Zeek through the maze of eager students. They came to find their seats near the window at the very front of the ship, right next to the cockpit where the pilot was.

"Hey guys glad you could make it!" A boy with light red hair walked out of the cockpit with his whiskers twitching slightly.  
"Well why would we miss it we're heading for beacon, the greatest combat school in all of remnant!" Zeek said ecstatically.

"Nooo I would absolutely love to miss this once in a life time chance!" Rustin remarked with his voice dripping of sarcasm.

"Shut up Rustin, no one likes it when you do th-Hey!" Terren shouted as he fell over into the seat and a girl in a purple hoodie got up off the floor.  
"Oh I'm so sorry, there was just a lot people and I tripped over them!" The girl said quickly apologizing in a panicking tone.  
"You're fine, the place is jam packed with people this year." Zeek said duly with his eyes not even looking at her as he was too bust looking at the view from the window.  
"Uh, yea you're fine...Care to sit with us?" Terren said shyly.  
"Um, sure I guess there doesn't seem to be any other seats." The girl said taking the seat next to Zeek. "Sorry I'm from mistral so I don't exactly know anyone here, in fact I just flew in yesterday." The girl explained herself.  
"You can stop apologizing now, that would be great. Anyways what's your name? I'm Zeek and this is Rustin and the one you tripped on is Terren." Zeek said as he turned around and gestured to his two friends who were already preoccupied with a card game Terren had whipped out for fun.  
"O-Okay, hi I'm Percillia it's a pleasure to meet you three!" She said finally collecting herself.

"Well you know us already, so uh Percillia why are you here in vale and not mistral?" Zeek asked not realizing the potential of striking a sore spot.  
"Because, I want to become a huntress and help people in need like my uncle does...My parents don't want me to do it so I moved here because Beacon is the best school and it's away from my parents." She said frowning as she remembered how the conversation had gone.  
"I see, um sorry I guess...Sorry I really don't talk to people that much." He said sheepishly.  
"Yea in fact we're really the only people he talks to on a regular basis, mostly because people think he has a thing for faunus." Rustin piped up from his seat as Zeeks ears went red.  
"Oh, umm I see. So what is it about them?" Percillia asked awkwardly as she put a hand under her arms.  
"Uh that's not it! I think that the practicality of an animal person is cool, I like the usefulness of it kind of like how someone likes a tall friend, sure you're friends but it's kind of cool because they're really tall." Zeek said a little flustered as they continued to make small talk and idle conversation as the ship flew towards the school. As they landed Terren and Rustin put their cards up and dashed out as fast as possible, Zeek sat there for a few seconds and stared at the exit.

"Well, looks like we're here! Talk to you later Percillia, hey maybe we'll end up on a team together!" Zeek said rushing out to follow his friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: A different perspective

A teenage boy slowly woke up from his bed in a nice hotel room and got ready for his day. He brushed his teeth, showered, changed clothes, and adjusted his eye-patch, normal things for him. He went into the kitchen and started preparing a breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and bacon. After he finished making the delicious meal he shouted into the other room. "Ashlei wake up, I made breakfast!"  
"Just a few more minutes." groaned the boys roommate.  
"Ashlei if you don't get up now you'll be late to beacon!" as soon as he said that a girl rushed out of the room and grabbed a plate.  
"Right Beacon! That's today! Can't be late! Gotta dash see you later Andrew!" She rushed out of the room faster then sound and left Andrew alone.  
"HEY WAIT! Gahh, you forgot your luggage." Andrew says with a irritated frown. After he finished his meal he grabbed his suitcase and a suitcase that was plastered with Rhino stickers and pictures of the school they were headed for. "Back home at last, and what do I have to do? Go to school and watch her all day!" He thought to himself thinking of the years he spent in vale as a child. He quickly ran out of the room to follow his friend who he found jumping up and down in front of the elevator. Ashlei glanced over at him and kept on bouncing. "You know you should really slow down, fix your hair, get ready and things like that." Andrew said as he pressed the button that called the elevator up.  
"Oh yea, sorry I forgot in the rush. I'm just so, so, so excited!" She said as she took her suitcase from him. As they rode down the elevator she was talking a hundred miles an hour as she talked about how great the day was going to be, but in Andrew's head the sound went through one ear and out the other.  
"Is she eighteen or is she seven? It's hard to tell sometimes." he scowled to himself.  
"Hey are you listening? You aren't talking that much." Ashlei inquired, curious as to why her friend was being so silent.  
"Uh, yea you were talking about beacon." he shook his head and said that as a snap response.  
"Yea, I wonder if they have books about rhinos there, I'll have to write my parents alllll about it!" She said in suspense as they exited the hotel and caught a cab to the landing platform.  
"There it is, the airship to beacon." Andrew said with a sigh. "Why do I feel so indifferent about this? This school is my future as her guard and honing my skills as a fighter." he thought to himself as he blankly stared at the airship.  
"Come on Andrew let's go, let's go, let's go!" She said jumping out of the car and pulling him with her. As they entered the airship they struggle to find a seat before take off, as the airship starts to move Ashlei loses balance and falls over. "Whoa! Ooph!" She exclaims as she hits the floor.  
"You alright? Be careful when it's moving, come on there is a seat right over there." Andrew said as he helped her up and walked over to the seats that were quickly taken. "Great, I guess we're just going to have to stand here all flight!" He said in an irritated tone.  
"Well it won't be too bad, we can talk to people maybe. Make a few friends, maybe find our future team!" Ashelei perked up as she dreamed about what kind of people would be on their team.  
"That's not how it works." Andrew mutters. After a few minutes someone bumped into them and ran past them. "Hey watch where you're going!" Andrew snipped at the stranger, the stranger froze and turned around slowly. She was a blond haired girl in tattered clothes and dressed like it was still summer.  
"I am so sorry, I was looking for a friend of mine!" The girl apologized mockingly.  
"Hey, apologize to Andrew for real right now!" Ashlei demanded.  
"Ashlei calm down, we're all a little on edge here." Andrew sighed as he calmed down.  
"Oh sorry I offended your boyfriend!" The girl snapped.  
"What is your name so I can report you for disturbance of peace!" Ashlei said calmly.  
"Sandrea, from vaccuo. By your looks I'd say you're a stuck up atlas brat!" The girl smirked.  
"Hey, hey, take it easy Sandrea, Ashlei you calm down too!" Andrew commanded in a stern tone.  
"First off we're just friends, secondly I'm not a brat, thirdly I'm Ashlei and this is Andrew." Ashlei gave a look that screamed 'Don't mess with me.' Sandrea gave them a dismissing wave and walked off. As this happened another girl bumped into them who looked a lot more formal, and organized. The stranger bowed.  
"Apologizes, but did you happen to see a girl named Sandrea pass by? Sh-"  
"Over there." Ashlei pointed as she interrupted the girl.  
"Yea she was pretty disrespectful." Andrew said bluntly.  
"I do apologize for that, I'm Umbren, me and her met on the platform." Umbren said shyly.  
"Don't care." Andrew says dryly as he looks out the window they were standing by. Ashlei slaps his arm.  
"Hey be respectful, just because the other girl was mean doesn't mean she is!" Ashlei remarked.  
"Whatever." Andrew replied, not really caring about the two new people they met. As time went on they landed at Beacon and the floodgate that was the airships doors was overflowing. Andrew grabbed Ashlei and pulled her through the crowd. "You wanted to see Beacon so badly? Well here it is!" He gestured to the magnificent towers and castle like buildings.  
"It's so cool! Come on let's go take a tour or something!" Ashlei squealed.  
"Actually we have a ceremony to attend." Andrew said with a smile.  
"Oh, right, ceremony yaaaay." She said weakly.  
"Don't worry, we can take a tour afterward and then go to sleep." he said with a smirk.  
"YAY! YES!" she screamed as she bolted ahead.  
"Ah great not again!" Andrew frowned to himself as he gave chase.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: Welcome to Beacon!

Ashlei ran into the courtyard trying to avoid Andrew as they often did as kids. "Hide and go seek tag, haven't done this in a while." She thought to herself as she hid under a bench with boxes in front of them.  
"Ashlei, where are you?!" Andrew yelled. "We'll be late for the ceremony come on!" He shouted, his voice was stern and anger filled.  
"Coming!" Ashlei said with a sigh as she came out from her hiding spot.  
"There you are, come on let's go." He said calming down. "I really shouldn't have exploded like that I'm sorry." He said weakly as they walked along the path to a large building that was packed full of people.  
"Apology accepted!" She said cheering up.  
"I'll keep this brief." The voice of the headmaster echoed through the building as they found their spots in the crowd.  
"Okay so we didn't miss much." Andrew lets out a sigh of relief.  
"You came here to find knowledge, to hone your skills, and to protect the people. When I look at you I see wasted energy." The headmaster said in a stern and commanding tone.  
"Well isn't he a ray of sunshine." Ashlei murmured before someone shushed her quiet.  
"You assume that your time here will fix that, however knowledge can only do so much. It is up to you to take the first step." He said somberly. After his speech he walks off behind the stage as one of the teachers walks up to the microphone.  
"You will gather for bed in the ballroom, then the next morning will be initiation, be ready." As the teacher said this students were already spilling out of the hall.  
"Come on, come on, come on!"Ashlei squealed as she grabbed Andrew and pulled him out of the hall. "Time for the adventure remember? Now we can explore the school and stuff like that!" She said as she bounced up and down.  
"Alright, let's go." He replied dimly as he followed.  
After a few hours of aimlessly exploring empty halls they make their way to the ballroom and settle down in the back corner of the room. They spot a gray haired boy in a white vest laying down in a triangle with two friends who were laughing and generally being really noisy. "Gah I hate people like them, too noisy and hold no respect for the establishment they're in." Andrew mutters to himself as they pass by.  
"Hey you haven't even met them yet, you can't judge them." His companion snipped.  
"Yes I can." He murmured as he sat down in the corner as he laid all his stuff out.  
"I'll go see if I can meet some people." Ashlei stated as she laid her suitcase down and her rhino backpack.  
"Alright, I'll stay here and go to sleep." He slowly moved into a comfortable sleeping position. He smacked the air as he thought he felt something on his shoulder but there was nothing to be seen. He laid back down and closed his eyes. After a few minutes of peace and quiet Andrew felt a poke on his cheek. He slowly rose up and looked at the one who had disrupted his peace.  
"I couldn't sleep over there." Ashlei said as she picked up the backpack.  
"Just go to sleep." Andrew dismissed as he fell back down into his resting position. She laid down next to him facing the opposite direction and quickly fell asleep while cuddling her Rhino. "I hate it when she does this." Andrew thought to himself. She turned over in her sleep and was facing him as he looked up at the ceiling. He felt his arm being grabbed as he fidgeted. "And I really hate when this happens!" He continued to stare at the ceiling as he attempted to go to sleep.

*********************************

After the ceremony Zeek and Rustin went straight to the ballroom, but Terren disappeared to go talk to the pilot of the airship. "So what now?" Rustin said as he quickly found the best sleeping spot.  
"I don't know, make an album of our first day here?" He asks as he snaps a picture with his camera. He decided to wander off and take a few more pictures. "Alright, so mess-hall first, landing platform second, then the ceremony room." He said out loud to himself.  
"Oh, h-hey there Zeek!" He heard a voice calling from the left, he spun around to see Percillia who had already changed into her night wear, a simple purple onesie.  
"O-Oh, hi Percillia...Uh, what to join me? I'm going to go take pictures of this place." He said awkwardly.  
"Sure sounds good, I already laid my stuff out so, uh, yea." She replied regaining confidence. "So the food court first?" She laughed.  
"Yea, I'm hungry." He smiled as they walked through the empty halls.

"So what do you think so far?"  
"It's...less grand then I imagined."  
"Oh really? Well I guess that's fair since everyone must have super high expectations for the best battle school on Remnant."  
"Yea, here we are I think. Come on let's go check it out!" Zeek said as he slipped into the building. Several teachers and other school workers were there and they glared at them.  
"Students should currently gather in the ballroom you two, now get to it!" The teacher from the ceremony barked.  
"Yes mam!" He replied quickly as he dashed out, panicking on the inside.  
"Wow, that was quick." Percillia laughed as they made their way back to the ballroom. "Well good night!" She said blandly as she returned to where her things were.  
"Good night!" Zeek returned as he did the same.  
"So Zeek did you have a good day?" Rustin asked with his eyebrows wiggling a little. Zeek slapped him and sat down next to him as they started laughing for no real reason.  
"Good night and shut up Rustin!" Terren said sourly as the lights shut off. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four: Taking initiative

Zeek woke up with a shove from Terren. "HEY ZEEK WAKE UP!" Terren shouted.  
"Woah! Hey, Terren you didn't have to yell." He said as he shook his head from side to side.  
"You need to get breakfast, initiation is in a couple of hours! Me and Rustin are already done." Terren said with a sigh.  
"Hey wake up and get to it sleepy head!" Rustin joked.  
"Okay, okay, I'll get to it!" Zeek replied with a yawn as he gathered his change of clothes and left for the mess-hall.

Ashlei woke up with a yawn as she clenched to her backpack. Andrew was standing right next to her. "I can't wake you up everyday like this Ashlei, come on and let's go get breakfast." He said dryly as Ashlei rose and yawned again.  
"Okay, let's go." She said while she rubbed her eyes. When they got to the cafeteria Ashlei spotted the boys from the previous night. "Hey, Andrew, you should say something if you have a problem with them."  
"I don't have a problem with them." He snipped.  
"Yes, you do."  
"No, I don't."  
"Do to!"  
"Shut up, Ashlei." He gave her a dismissing wave as he got his food and found a seat at one of many tables. The boys they were talking about ended up sitting down a few seats away.  
"Hey there!" The red haired boy waved. "Good morning!"  
"Good morning." Ashlei said cheerfully.  
"Good morning." Andrew said halfheartedly. Andrew had hoped that they would stop talking but the boy slid across the seats to make eye contact.  
"I'm Rustin, this is Terren, and this is Zeek." He said gesturing to his two friends before reaching out a hand. Andrew looked at his hand and decided not to take if. "Oh come on, don't be a stick in the mud, we might be teammates!."  
"That's a horrifying thought." Andrew mumbled.  
"Geez looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Zeek stated with a small bit of humor.  
"What bed? None of us had beds!" Terren remarked.  
"Go away, please, I need to get ready for initiation." Andrew said sharply.  
"More like wrong side of the corner." Rustin grinned. "So is she your sister?" He asked as he pointed to Ashlei who was silently enjoying her pancakes and eggs. Andrew choked on a bite of his food before swallowing.  
"No, we're not related." He snapped quickly.  
"Girlfriend?"  
"Client." Andrew said dryly as he tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible.  
"His parents were my bodyguards back in Atlas, so now he thinks it's his job now that we're both going to the same school together!" Ashlei piped up.  
"So you come from a rich family then?" Zeek asked curiously.  
"Yea, I'm Ashlei Willo, pleased to meet you." She said with excitement.  
"I've heard that last name before, I think I do at least." Rustin thought for a bit. "Oh that's right, you're from the Willo security company in Atlas! 'Defense as strong as a redwood, gentle as a weeping willow!" He recited the company motto.  
"Yea, I never understood that motto." Ashlei said with a frown.

"Didn't even know Mr. and Mrs. Willo had a daughter." Zeek said with a head bob.  
"I didn't get out much, private tutor, home-schooled, sheltered life over all." She said with slight resentment in her voice.  
"So what's it like being a body guard." Zeek ignored Ashlei's reply as she clearly didn't want to talk about it.  
"Do you have a little sister Zeek?" Andrew said with a glare.  
"No."  
"Think about chasing someone all over the house, all day long because they aren't suppose to go into the city."  
"Okay, sounds annoying." Zeek replied as he listened intently.  
"Do that every single day, and when you do get time off you hang around them and talk about whatever they want to say."  
"It's not that bad." Ashlei said as she playfully slapped his arm.  
"Especially when they cling to your arm." Rustin smirks.  
"Wait, what?!" Ashlei and Andrew say in synch.  
"Last night." Rustin said like it was a well known fact.  
"Oh right." Andrew said with a frown. "I couldn't get any sleep."  
"Wait, what did I do?" Ashlei looked between the two swiftly.  
"You grabbed my arm instead of your rhino backpack." Andrew grunted. Ashlei's face goes red as she fidgets.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean too, I was asleep." She said as her voice got a little sobby.  
"Hey, what's your deal?" Zeek's words lash out at Andrew. "What is your problem with this girl?"  
"My name is Andrew so you can address me by name now. To answer your question I don't have a problem, she knows I hate it when she does that and she doesn't like it either. There is absolutely no problem." He said replied as if the whole conversation was pointless.

"He's right, we're fine." Asheli tried to defuse the argument.  
"If you insist." Zeek grumbles.  
"Come on, Ashlei, let's go get ready to leave." Andrew said as he stood up.  
"Alright." Ashlei said with her mouth full as she finished her pancakes.  
"See you later, Andrew, Ashlei." Rustin waved.  
"Well that was...Interesting." Terren said hesitantly.

"Come on." Zeek says blandly as he too got up to leave. Zeek's friends followed swiftly behind as they made their way to the airship. They found the airship was devoid of all other students.  
"I guess we're early." Rustin smirked.  
"Too early." Terren replied.  
"Oh, hey kids!" A tall, brownish-red haired, middle-aged, man appeared from the cockpit.  
"Hey, Octavious!" Terren waved.  
"Who is this guy?" Zeek thought to himself.  
"Zeek, Rustin, this is Octavious, he is the pilot for the airship." Terren grinned.  
"Pleased to meet you!" The man bowed with one hand to his side revealing several suction cups.  
"You're an octopus faunus?!" Zeek exclaimed.  
"Yea, it helps me hold onto things tightly. Hand sanitizer is killer though." Octavious grimaced.

"Um, okay." Zeek replied as he stared at his hands.  
"So you kids still have initiation ahead of you. You ready?" He said with a gentle smile.  
"YES!" The three said in synch.  
"Good, now find your seats, it looks like other kiddies are coming aboard." He said as he pointed to the mass of students who were walking their way.  
"That...would probably be a good idea." Zeek paused to look at the people in the crowd before dashing for a seat. Zeek surveys the crowd with his eyes in an attempt to find Percillia or someone else he knew. The airship was just as crowded as it was when they came.  
"Couldn't their be multiple airships?!" Terren asked in deep frustration as he watched the madness unfold. By the time the ship started flying everyone had found their seats other then a few students.  
"I guess there are, we don't have dozens of people standing up and bumping into each other." Zeek said blandly as he continued to search the crowds.

"Are you looking for that girl again?" Rustin laughed.  
"No, just people that we know in general. Typical teams are made of four people, so us three and one other person." Zeek tried to hide his real motives.  
"Yeah, right." Rustin saw right through him.  
"Yes, I am right."  
"Nope." Terren added quickly. "We know what you're doing." Zeek leaned over and punched his shoulder.  
"Shut up!" Zeek barked as he turned to look out the window at a forest they were flying over.  
"I guess this is the place." Rustin shrugs.  
"Most likely." Terren twitched in anticipation.  
"Definitely." Zeek stared in wonder as they passed over luscious trees and steep cliffs.  
"May I have your attention please, we're about to land in the emerald forest, you will be further instructed by Glynda Good-witch, and headmaster Ozpin." Octavious announced into the speaker. In mere moments they landed on a nearby cliff and the doors swung open. As the students poured out they saw two other ships land, each full of students. Zeek dashes out of the airship and spots the teacher who was at the ceremony and the headmaster.  
"I guess that's Good-witch and Ozpin." Zeek thought to himself. As they gathered on the edge of the cliff each student stood on a small platform, Zeek looked left to right to see who he was next to, he spotted Percillia a few platforms over to his left, to his right, no one but strangers.  
"You have all trained several years to become huntsman, today you will be tested in the emerald forest." Ozpin started the briefing of initiation as soon as everyone was off the ships. "You shall be assigned teams based on the artifact you bring back."  
"But, you will be partnered before that, the first person you make eye-contact with will be your partner." Glynda spoke up and adjusted her glasses, her green eyes pierced into the students. "You will be graded on time, landing strategy, fighting prowess, and teamwork."  
"Any questions? No, let's begin!" Ozpin said sharply as the first person was launched off the platform. The sound of the platforms rapidly increased as they were flung into the air.  
"Alright Zeek gravity grenade first." He thought to himself as he flew through the air. He reached into his backpack and grabbed a purple grenade that exploded and sent him flying into the ground. "NO!" He shouted as he fell. "Gah, what did I do wrong? I pulled it too soon." He resolved. "Alright, I hope I can find Rustin, or Terren, or Percillia." He thought as he ran through the trees, his gloves slide out their metal claws. "Okay, those are working right." He dashed through the forest, trying to find his partner before he encounters any hostile creatures. A puff of purple smoke exploded in front of him as a figure appeared in front of him. "Boo!" Zeek shouted to the turned back of the newcomer.  
"EEK!" The person exclaimed. The same purple smoke appeared as the figure now stood on a branch.  
"Percillia is that you?" Zeek asked trying to focus on the girl in the shadows.  
"Zeek? Y-Yes it's me." She said as she jumped down and stuck her pincer blade into the ground. She extended her hand. "I guess we're teammates now."  
"Looks that way." He shook her hand after he retracted the claws in his gloves.  
"Don't look back right now but there's an Ursa behind you." Percillia said as she slowly grabbed her pincer blade.  
"Wait, what?!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five: Testing mettle and testing metal.

With a puff of the same purple smoke she disappeared. Zeek heard the sound of an Ursa moaning, he snapped around to see Percillia's pincer blade lodged in the dark bears chest and a shield at her side. "What even is that?" Zeek thought to himself as he looked curiously at the purple smoke.

"Well, that went better then expected." Percillia smiled.

"What is this purple smoke stuff?" Zeek coughs.

"That's my semblance, my special ability. I am able to warp short distances." Percillia starts walking in the direction they were pointed in by the teachers at the start.

"That is really cool." Zeek says quietly.

"Yea, do you know yours yet?" She leans her head back but keeps her gaze ahead.

"Um, I'd rather not talk about it." Zeek hesitated.

"Oh, okay...uh, sorry for asking." Percillia replied awkwardly. They continued on in silence for the next few minutes, not finding much that was note worthy until they came to a small clearing. Zeek looked down into the clearing and spotted two figures standing back to back, they were surrounded by the same kind of monster that had attacked them earlier.

"Come on let's go help them!" Zeek jumps down, shortly being followed by Percillia. Zeek rushed over to them as they snapped around.

"Glad you're here, Zeek!" Rustin grinned.

"Fancy meeting you here." Zeek said sarcastically as he let his claws slide out.

"Hi, forgetting about someone?" The other person spoke up from behind two shields, they parted to show a pair of deep brown eyes and black hair.

"This is Umbren." Rustin introduced her.

"Sorry, no time for that right now!" Zeek replied as he rushed at the grimm on the left. "I'll take the left." Zeek continued to run. Umbren nodded and stood her ground at the grimm approaching from the front, Percillia joined Rustin on the right side which was heavy with grimm. Zeek jumped on the head of a charging creep, he kicked the raptor like creature into the ground and stabbed it with his claws. Several ursa came at him from the sides before he jumped into the air and threw a grenade from his backpack, it exploded freezing all the grimm in place. Zeek landed on ones head and slashed at it's face before swiftly jumping to the next few to do the same. "It looks like I got the easy side!" Zeek smirked. Over to the side Umbren's shields were tearing through the grimm, he noticed the sharp blades that lined the perimeter of the shields. The shields flew back to Umbren with a flick or her wrist, the cables retracting into her gauntlets. A large snake grimm busted forth from the forest, tossing other grimm and trees to the side as it slithered towards her. "UMBREN, JUMP!" Zeek shouted out to her. She snapped her head around and jumped out of the way of the snakes powerful jaws. Percillia and Rustin rushed over to help her just as they finished their side.

"Hiss." Rustin mocked the snake as he stuck his tongue out.

"Alright, we need a plan." Zeek lets out a deep breath as he makes his way towards them. The snakes head slowly rose up above them, they all jump back right before the head plunges down at them.

"Gee ya think?!" Percillia snipped.

"Percillia, the other head should be coming over soon can you make distract it?" Zeek requests with slight irritation.

"Got it!" She disappeared in a puff of the same purple smoke.

"Umbren, can you block it's teeth and keep the mouth open?"

"I can try." Umbren replied with uncertainty.

"Try that, I'll jump it and Rustin can fire into it's mouth." He said with confidence in his plan.

"You got it, boss!" Rustin smirked as they dashed towards it. The snakes body started to coil around before snapping at them. Umbren lashed the shields at the top of it's mouth and steped down on the bottom of it's mouth. Rustin jumped inside the mouth as Umbren struggled to hold it open, he proceeded to fire several energy shots out of his arm busters. Mean while, Zeek was on it's head and back, running along it and slicing into it. Zeek looked up to see Percillia fly back from a hit by the snakes two sided body.

"You alright?" Zeek shouted in concern.

"I'm fine." She replied as she recovered from the blow. She warps onto the snakes head and stabs into it's skull, pulling the trigger on her blade to make the pincers close in.

"It's going to throw you off, you should jump!" Zeek shouted as he continued to run across it's back to get closer. Percillia followed the order right before the grimm rolled it's head around. Percillia warped down and stabbed one eye with her sword and the other with her shield. The grimm violently shook and shrieked in pain. Zeek looked back to see if Rustin and Umbren were okay. He saw the jaws slowly close.

"COME ON!" Percillia shouted as she warped towards the other head of the beast. Zeek ran after her and jumped in front of the mouth. Rustin was holding the jaws up with his arms as Umbren started slipping back into the belly of the beast.

"H-Help." Rustin wheezed, his aura draining and his body weakening. Zeek jumped and slid into the beasts mouth and reaching for Umbren.

"Throw a shield up!" Zeek shouted.

"I can't, they're stuck in it's hide!" Umbren held on by one shield, the other stuck deeper into the beasts throat. They started hearing an odd ringing noise. Suddenly the shield loosened and she was able to tear it out. Umbren tossed the shield up to Zeek and started hoisting herself up. They crawl out of the snake and see that Rustin is no longer holding it open, now Percillia and Andrew were holding it up. Two cutlasses were wedged in the mouth to assist them.

"Andrew?" Zeek tilted his head, slightly surprised that he was here.

"Hi, now get out you reckless idiot!" He growled as he kept pushing up. Zeek and Umbren crawled out. As soon as they were in the clear Andrew snatched his cutlasses and jumped out with Percillia. Rustin was distracting the other head, firing several shots at it's face and neck.

"Could use some help over here! I need someone who can cut the blasted creature, heh, blasted." Rustin snickered at his unintentional pun.

"I kind of want to let him die after that." Andrew snarled as he rushed over to him.

"Alright, Umbren, I need you to tie it to the ground with your shields, Percillia will do the chopping, I have two gravity dust grenades left, I can use them to weigh it down to make it easier on you." Zeek devised a plan that had just popped into his head.

"Got it!" The two girls replied. All three of them bolted for the snakes dark black head, Percillia warped onto it's head and Umbren slid to the side. Zeek jumped at it as he threw the purple devices. He landed on the snakes face and it's jaws snapped open. Zeek held on by his claws that he stabbed into the grimms eyes. Umbren jumped and rolled over the beast, one shield imbedded on one side and the other slinging on its way. As soon as it was bound Percillia warped into the air and came slamming down on its neck, Zeek and Percillia pounded the beast as Umbren fought to hold it down, the gravity dust being barely enough to give her an edge. Zeek tossed a green grenade at Percillia's feet.

"JUMP!" He shouted.

"What?!" Percillia asked, she didn't spot the ball that was rolling towards her till it activated, sending a gust of wind that tossed her in the air. She warped up even higher, gravity dragging her down gave her more momentum and power into her strike as she came crashing down on the snake. It dissipated in a puff of dark black smoke. Andrew and Rustin walked over to them.

"You should have just gone for the bottom of its throat, it is weaker there, that's why the head protects it." Andrew sighed.

"Thanks for the tip. You could have helped earlier." Zeek snarled.

"No, because our head wasn't dead yet." Rustin panted, drained of most of his energy.

"Now come on, I still haven't found my teammate." Andrew said dryly as he adjusted his eye-patch.

"You mean, your partner." Zeek corrected.

"Yes, and I prefer for her not to be on a separate team. You know how that would change my job right?" He said sharply. "Come on, she might have already made eye-contact with someone." Andrew scowled.

"A little over protective, don't you think?" Umbren spoke up.

"Look, I don't care, this is my job and I intend to do it." Andrew said as he kept walking. They followed up closely behind him as he appeared to know where he was going.

"Hi, Umbren, I'm Percillia." She said with a smile as she extended her hand.

"Pleased to meet you, and you're Zeek." Umbren said as she pointed her other hand at him. "And who is this?" She tilted her head as she pointed to Andrew.

"Andrew Crown, we met on the airship when you were apologizing for the Vaccuo brat." Andrew snarled at the thought of their encounter.

"Her name is Sandrea, and she's not a brat." Umbren sighed as she realized her efforts were futile. "Thanks back there, Zeek, not many people would be brave enough to do something like that."

"It was more stupid then anything." Percillia scolded.

"I would have tried to find a better way, she might have died in the process." Rustin admitted grimly.

"Guys stop, it was a split-second reaction, nothing brave about it, just instincts." Zeek insisted.

"You could have cut open its throat and drug her out from there, they don't have aura to protect their skin. They don't have soul barriers like humans do." Andrew flipped up the eye-patch and rubbed the area around his eye before flipping it back over, none of them could see if he had an eye under it. They kept walking through the forest, the five of them didn't encounter much trouble until they found a large clearing. Their gaze shifted to the stone structure in the distance, and the three people standing there. "I do hope one of those is Ashlei." Andrew muttered as he dashed forward.

"Come on, I think I see Terren!" Rustin shouts as he follows, Umbren joined him leaving Zeek and Percillia slowly walking towards the ruins.

"This place looks ruiny enough to me." Zeek chuckled.

"I was expecting more grimm." Percillia replied, somewhat disappointed. They walked up to a podium that had several cards laid out on it.

"So do we each take one?" Zeek looked curiously at a dusty jack of spades.

"I'll take the jack of diamonds." Percillia said as she reached over. The jack of hearts and clubs were already missing.

"Hey!" Andrew said calmly as he raised the jack of clubs. "I guess we're a team." He said with a smile. Ashlei skipped over and extended a hand to Percillia.

"Hi, I'm Ashlei, nice to meet you!"

"Likewise." Percillia replied as she shook Ashlei's hand.

"Hi, Zeel!" Ashlei waved.

"It's Zeek." He said as he waved back.

"Oh, sorry." She replied as she slung her backpack off.

"So, now we get back to the cli-" Andrew started.

"You!" A familiar voice rang through the ruins.

"Oh no, not her again." Andrew rubbed his forehead.

"Hey guys!" Terren waved weakly. "Sandrea's been dragging me around here."

"Hey, Terren, grab the two of clubs and the two of hearts!" Rustin said excitedly. Terren does so and hands the two of hearts to Sandrea. "Alright, new team!" Rustin shouted as he jumped in the air.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Andrew said running for the rendezvous.

"He's avoiding her like the plague." Ashlei giggled as she followed.

"Um, guys." Percillia spoke up. "Isn't the rendezvous that way?" She said as she pointed in the direction they should have been going.


End file.
